St Helens Youth Darts Academy Joins Elite 1

Target Darts is delighted to announce that St Helens Youth Darts Academy has become the newest Elite 1 Affiliated Academy. The academy is recognized as one of the most prolific in the country, having produced youth World Champions like Luke Littler and Eleanor Cairns in recent years who have gone on to sign with Target.

As an Elite 1 Affiliated Academy, St Helens Youth Darts Academy will receive support in the form of equipment and guidance from experienced heads within the darts world, helping to develop and nurture the next generation of darting talent that is undoubtedly coming through St Helens’ Academy.

Lorraine Winstanley, Head of Youth Development at Target Darts, expressed her excitement about the partnership, she said:

"We are thrilled to welcome St Helens Youth Darts Academy to the Elite 1 affiliate program. They have a proven track record of developing top-class players and we are looking forward to working with them for many years to come."

The Elite 1 Affiliated Academies are a select group of academies recognized by Target Darts as the best in the country, providing access to a range of exclusive benefits and opportunities to help develop and support young players. St Helens Youth Darts Academy joins an impressive list, and we are confident that this partnership will lead to even greater success for the academy and its players in the years to come.

St Helen’s on average welcomes 90 children every Monday evening at Sidac Social Club. The Academy is run by a number of amazing volunteers who provide a safe yet competitive environment for children to play darts ranging between 7-18 years old.

Karl Holden, a co-founder of the academy, expressed his delight at penning the academies future with Target.

"Target are one of the biggest brands if not the biggest brand in darts so having them look after us will progress these players and hopefully we can produce even more players for Target in the coming years. The likes of Stephen Bunting, Bradley Brooks, Dave Chisnall, Luke and Eleanor are just a few to name that have already come from the academy.“

Target recently visited the academy to see it in action and create this video that gives a proper overview of what it means to the players and coaches involved.

If you run a darts academy and wish to become affiliated with Target then please reach out to @TargetElite1 on Twitter.